1. Statement of the Technical Field
The inventive arrangements relate to hand-held wireless communication devices such as land-mobile radios (LMRs).
2. Description of Related Art
The ability to operate a hand-held communication device with one hand can be a critical necessity to users such firefighters, paramedics and other types of emergency responders; military personnel; etc. Modern hand-held communication devices, in general, include numerous functional features that require some type of user input. Designing such devices for single-handed operation, therefore, can present a substantial challenge.
Certain types of smart phones incorporate an optical sensor that facilities optical finger navigation, or “OFN,” of a cursor or other graphical feature on the phone's display. The optical sensor is usually located on the front of the phone, below or above the display. Alternatively, the display itself may be a touch-sensitive screen that facilitates optical finger navigation. The ergonomics associated with navigating a cursor using an optical sensor or display configured in this manner are generally poor, particularly during single-handed operation of the smart phone, i.e., while the user is holding the phone and attempting to navigate with the same hand.
LMRs and other types of hand-held communication devices that operate in half duplex mode typically include a push to talk or press to transmit (PTT) switch that activates the device's transmit mode. These types of devices, in general, do not have user interfaces commonly found on smart phones, such as optical sensors that facilitate optical finger navigation of a cursor or other graphical feature. The need to maintain the PTT switch of an LMR or other type of half-duplex communication device in a depressed state while transmitting would make one-handed, simultaneous operation of the PTT switch and a conventionally-configured optical finger navigation feature difficult if not impossible for the average user.